The Cooks’ House

My wife and I were looking forward to dinner here based on the great reviews. It was just as good as we hoped it would be. We both had the 5 course tasting menu, which I would recommend. They have a 7 course option but we were so full after 5, I dont think we could have finished.
We started with asparagus soup which was good, but not great. We then had the braised pork belly with steel cut oats, which was one of the best things I have ever eaten. I had the steak entrée and she had the lake trout, both were incredible. We then had a salad of mixed greens, mozzerella, and confit potatoes… all wonderful. We finished the meal with the Chocolate Stout Cake and Espresso Caramel sauce, which was sooo good!
Overall it was an amazing meal… each course left us wanting just another bite or two because it was so good… but we were both full when we were done. The staff was great and the service was too. Definitely highly recommend!

I know that a 4 seems plenty nice, but that is really earned on just the food and I couldn’t bring myself to give a 3. We had an outstanding night and enjoyed the 7 course tasting menu. It was so fun and so unique and full of local flavors in a such a cozy intimate setting. I have been here once before for a wine dinner and was dying to come back on a TC trip to do the full experience. The food disappoint, from the first course (very simple asparagus soup with a drizzle of curry cream sauce of some sort) to the last (an amazing chocolate espresso cake) it was all great. The trout with chorizo vinaigrette was my favorite of the night. It was fun to order a couple of bottles of local wine to go along with our locally sourced dinner. But, where I am feeling pretty bummed is in the service we received! That was three start quality at best. We asked our server a couple times where an ingredient came from and they said they would ask but never answered. We told them the bathroom was out of paper towels twice and they never fixed it. We also never had anyone ask us how anything was, and when I commented on how much I loved something they just said «good» and walked off. I wanted to hear more about the dishes we were getting, but they plopped them on the table and told us what the menu told us, nothing more. A tasting menu is an immersive experience and I want the staff to help take me on a journey when I am paying a lot for it. Granted, this is a bargain based on Chicago prices for similar spots. I was so bummed about that part because the food was amazing and it was a great awesome night, but I own their cookbook and am so passionate about their approach to food, I wish the people who worked there were, too.

Ah-​may-​zing! Put this on your must visit list when in TC. Fabulous food, drink and service. We asked our server for recommendations and they were all spot on. The duck and trout were amazing standouts. Try the Orchid cocktail. Fabulous wines and deserts. Best service in town. Special thanks to Ryan and Kyle who took great care of us. Don’t miss The Cooks House!

5 course tasting menu with wine pairings is wonderful little trip of food flavors and textures with very nice wine pairings. My wife and I enjoyed the simple elegance of the chefs selections and pairings. We had a wonderful time with attentive service. It was a great night of wine, food and my wife’s beautiful company! Love this place!

What a very special experience we had at Cook’s house! The usual wait list or reservation log was not an issue. We were here on a snowy spring day and cancellations allowed us to come right in and be seated. (In fact we were the only ones for a bit). Quaint house turned restaurant felt homey and inviting. Food was outstanding. Standouts for me were the arugula salad and lemon curd panna cotto. Everything was well plated, cooked to perfection and tasty. Make the smart move to get a reservation (don’t expect my luck), so worth it!

It’s a relaxing, sensuous experience from start to finish. The location is quaint and sophisticated, reminiscent of a intimate dinner with friends while also maintaining a sense of professionalism.
It feels like you’re sitting in the cooks’ house, in other words.
Your best bet is to get the course meal. Up to you whether or not you get the wine pairing to go with it. If you have a strong ability to discern wine pairings, go for it. We just picked a wine that matched with our main course.
It’s an experience to go, so treat it like one. Take your time, look around as much as you can, soak up the activity in the kitchen, examine each dish… search for new flavors and just be mindful, man. The place is a treasure.

This place is divine. This is a converted an old Victorian home, you sit among only a handful of tables and get personalized service. We drove through a snowstorm and had to call a couple of times to let them know we’d be late, but they were very friendly and held our table without issue.
My wife and I both got the 5 course tasting menu with different entrees to share — every course was absolutely 5 star delicious!
Service was excellent throughout our dinner and server even shared a bit of history about the place.
Will definitely be back!

Being able to get a reservation at this place is so difficult because they are so small. And although they were booked up for Restaurant week, I was still able to get a reservation the Friday before it started. My husband and I decided ew were gong to share a 7 course meal along with some a la carte items. This was great that the restaurant was flexible in this respect, because my husband doesn’t care enough to want to do a tasting menu with me. Other places expect the entire table to order the tasting menu.
So at the start of the meal we were presented with an amuse bouche… kinda of. Everything here was delicious! From the soup to the popcorn at the end. It was all wonderful. I loved that they used ingredient combinations that I haven’t seen before. The only thing was the parsnip and carrot salad which had almon butter at the bottom. It is a good combination, but there was too much almond butter and it took over the taste of the parsnip and carrot. I highly recommend the tasting menu here for anyone visiting. The only gripe I had was that service was long in my opinion. There were spots in between dishes where I felt I was twiddeling my thumbs. Ok I’ve gotten lazy in writing this post. So if you don’t take my word for it, look at my pictures.

This was is a Great find and very unique. If you find yourself in Traverse City I would make it a point to eat here!
It’s cozy inside but they do a great job with the seating. Space is limited to about 24 – 28 people inside so be sure to make a reservation.
I had the 7 course meal, my date had the duck breast and both were outstanding! The food quality, preparation, presentation, & price all seamed to be in line with what I’m accustom to at a high quality restaurant.
The service was on par and they did a great job explaining items on the menu and presenting them when they reached the table.
Needless to say I was not disappointed.

This is my absolute favorite place in Traverse City. I’ve been there several times, and I’ve always been blown away by the food. I like to start with the cheese plate, which features local jams and cheeses. The main course is always difficult to choose and always changing. You can’t go wrong with one of the fish dishes. They also have an extensive wine list, with wines you really can’t find anywhere else. The Cook’s House is truly in a class by itself.
My one word of caution is reservations are must. The restaurant is tiny, so it is difficult to walk-​in.

Wanted to share this eating experience with friends visiting from Oregon. Made a reservation about a month before the evening we were to be in TC.
Spent extra time in TC day of our reservation as could not reserve until 6:30.The four of us arrived to find they had no record of my reservation in their system (which is a name and phone handwritten in a notebook).
We were offered one of 2 aluminum outdoor tables.
There was no apology, no hint of a feeling that they felt badly about THEIR mistake. Just «we are full».
We left (what else to do?) and I will not be returning. The staff is rude and obviously incompetent with reservations.
We wasted an afternoon waiting until our «reservation time»…and a waste… We could have been back home in Grand Rapids much much earlier.

Had the 7 course with wine tastings and was blown away. Great presentation for each dish, elegant understated service and the food … sublime. Highly recommended. Probs the best in TC. Not cheap and reservations are needed weeks in advance. But this place is the reason TC is considered a foodie town. Everyone else has to pick up their game — and many do — but chef Eric is leading the pack.

This was one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile. Everything was so fresh. I love that the restaurant is located on the end of a street in a neighborhood. The ambiance is very quaint:) We sat outside on the porch, which I think was ideal because it looked a little crowded inside. We were the youngest people eating there. Most of the patrons were in their best resort wear such as Lily Pulitzer and Ralph Lauren. Our waiters and waitresses were very attentive. They gave us champagne and an extra course since we were there on our honeymoon and my husband is a chef. I had a huge camera around my neck, so they might have thought I was a critic or something. ha. I did post photos for my website though:) We ordered the 7 course meal, and loved every dish. We had: a pork rillette dish with lil balls and homemade crackers, rosemary rolls, carrot soup, rabbit dish, white fish, steak, fresh tomatoes and beans, a nice cheese plate, and a blueberry tart. The carrot soup was amazing. They used very fresh greens on every dish mmm. The next day we ran over to Left Foot Charley’s and the Pemberton Bakery which were two vendors that the restaurant turned us on to. Left Foot Charley’s makes this cinnamon roll alcoholic cider that is to die for and the Pemberton Bakery is where The Cook’s House got the rolls they had served us. The service there was divine. Despite the place being so small, they served the courses in a leisurely manner which allowed us for to savor each dish. It was a romantic, charming, and delicious dinner and I can’t wait to go back. I have pics on my website if you’re interested.

Well, I worked so hard to secure this reservation for my wife and I on a recent getaway to Traverse City. It was quite a disappointment, both the food and the service.
It started with my mixed drink… the sweetest mojito I think I have ever had. Our salads were fine, but meager in proportion. Then the main course, my wife’s dish was actually quite nice. My flat iron steak prepared in a vinegar-​based sauce or reduction of some sort was overly acidic and sour.
Then the service… we waited, and waited, and then waited some more for our entrees. I realize it’s time to relax, chill out as we «getaway». However, the extreme delay was recognized by management unsolicited as they offered a dessert as a gesture (a nice touch and appreciate the recognition).
There was a Mario sighting that night, as he arrived shortly after we did. Maybe all hands were «on deck» to ensure his and his family’s experience was exceptional. It’s ironic that his public recommendation was part of our reason to try the Cook’s House in the first place.
Unfortunately, we join the legions of recent reviewers offering 3 stars. This isn’t random or an outlier by any means. I think I am being generous with this rating, considering the expense and the experience.

The food cannot be faulted. It was original, nuanced and fresh. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted greens like this before. Everything was delicious. I ordered the 5 course tasting menu and my husband ordered an entrée. It was plenty. This with two additional drinks brought the final bill to about $ 130, which we considered reasonable, especially compared to Ann Arbor prices. The meal was incomparable so we were a little surprised that the staffing, while totally up on their game, was somehow too efficient, too mechanical, too lacking in warmth and a smile. It felt like a laboratory instead of a cozy restaurant. Why? Plenty of people were fluttering around– refilling water, folding napkins, tidying the tables etc. but no one asked if we had questions about the menu, no one asked if we wanted a second round of drinks, no one asked if we wanted coffee. No one cracked a smile. Though I nearly broke one server who asked if I wanted pepper on my tomatoes. I smiled and asked if that’s what he would recommend and he smiled back and said yes. He was right. My husband wanted an after dinner drink but no one asked about that either We were presented with the check and we were on our way. A little more than 1,5 hours on the nose.
I hate to dwell on this because the food was excellent – one of the best meals ever – and we will probably return. They clearly have the kitchen and front of the house under control, bur maybe a little too controlled up front.

We were eager to try The Cooks’ House on a recent vacation in TC — my companion had heard good things about it. It was the closest thing to truly fine dining we experienced on our stay there (in terms of the inventive menu and casual/​chic setting. It is tiny, and therefore reservations are scarce. There are two tasting menus, and a compact, yet varied, a la carte menu. We chose a al carte.
For starters, a Cooks’ House salad featuring smoked rabbit was delightful. Entrées were not as successful. I cannot recall the name of mine (the restaurant does not provide a detailed printed receipt), but it featured pieces of beef steak (a bit chewy). My companion had hoped for walleye, but had to settle for a somewhat overcooked substitute (halibut, maybe?). Both entrées were a bit saltier than we’d prefer, and my portion was larger than I’d prefer (my jaw was tired from all the chewing).
Service was attentive and well-​paced, though the staff seemed somewhat cool & aloof. If I were to do it all over, I’d order the tasting menu to sample a wider variety of items (and smaller portions of each). Though we were a bit disappointed on this visit, I’d probably try it one more time if I return to TC.

The Cooks’ House feels much like the name describes. It is an intimate space that gives you the impression of having dinner at a friends’ house rather than a restaurant, with seating for about 25 people. The food is locally-​sourced and embraces the seasons, with a blackboard in the dining room displaying the names of the purveyors they patronize.
If I’m being completely honest though, most of the dishes we actually ordered at The Cooks’ House did not bowl me over. The salad I ordered tasted like I just walked into the woods and started eating plants. There was barely any dressing and there were no complementary flavors to try to balance the bitterness of the wild, foraged greens. The main dishes were all heavy and meat-​centric, with no vegetarian option. The one saving grace was the appetizer of pasta carbonara we ordered, which was not only delicious and perfectly seasoned, and we could clearly tell the pasta was house-​made.
I was also a tad disappointed in the service. While not terrible, our waiter did not ask us if we had any questions or offer to walk us through the menu, which struck me as odd given how many ingredients were on the menu that even I, a hardcore foodie, had never seen on a restaurant menu before. I would’ve liked there to have been some sort of attempt on his part to explain the concept of the food or at the very least ask if we had any questions. As it were, he merely came up to us and asked, «Do you know what you want to order?» It seemed a tad apathetic for such a fine-​dining establishment.
While I wasn’t a fan of most of our meal, what I thought The Cooks’ House did amazingly well was the little amuse bouche they bring between courses. Their after-​dinner amuse bouche was a variety of little nibbles, but the one thing that I went gaga over was the kettle corn with ground fennel. I loved it so much that our waiter graciously brought me over a second helping, which slightly redeemed himself from his somewhat apathetic attitude when we were ordering our dinner.
So if I could offer The Cooks’ House one suggestion, it would be to put more of the little bites on their menu and don’t focus so much on the heavy meat dishes and flavorless salads. Also: give your wait-​staff better training in walking your guests through the menu.

The best way to describe my three trips here (4 hour drive from Detroit) is to come hungry and do the chefs course. Every course was amazing every time.

Ate here again recently as we were up in Traverse City on our honeymoon. Again, wife and I went with the 7 course tasting menus, and again, did not leave disappointed. In fact, the meal was even better than last time. By quite a bit.
Began with the squash soup, smooth and velvety as always. Followed that up with a shredded pigs foot on top of oats that was tastier than any of the courses we had on our previous visit. Then came the entrees which were not only the 2 best plates of food I’ve ever had at Cook’s House, but some of the best in Traverse City or 2014 period. First was a sauteed whitefish with a homemade kimchi on top of a brushstroke of charred vegetable ash and then the masterstroke of a few pieces of perfectly cooked beef on top of bone marrow mashed potatoes with a chimichurri. Awesome.
Next came a perfectly tasty cheese plate followed by the dessert course. We supplemented that by splitting the recommended apple cobbler. Easily the weakest dish of the night. Grandma on her worst day can put forward one that easily exceeds the dry, flavorless one we were served.
Still, not enough to mar one of the 3 best meals I’ve ever had in Northern Michigan.
Strongly reaffirms the 5 star rating.

Holy dining experience, Batman!
Set in an old Victorian home, this intimate restaurant makes you feel like you’re part of the action, much like you would if you were in a friend’s kitchen while she cooked for you.
There were five of us in the party, and we all enjoyed what we ordered. I was the only one in the party who got the 5 course tasting menu, and I got the wine flights with it. I think this is the best value for the most adventure. Pig tails and porridge, anyone (it was a smoky, savory delight).
I’m dinging one star for two small reasons. 1. The by-​the-​glass wine prices are too much. 2. The blueberry dessert, which had to be ordered in advance, was a bit doughy and not sweet enough.
If you’re a foodie, go here.